hist-brewing: Brakott recipe discussion(was:10th to 15th century ale reci...

[CBlackwill at aol.com]

I'm certainly no expert at redacting ancient recipes, but here is my take on 
it, as a home brewer.:

Sounds like you are letting the wort sit for three days to mellow, age, cool 
down, whatever.  It doesn't seem to me that any yeast is added at this point, 
but if it is sitting uncovered, there is a good chance that wild yeast will 
grab onto it and begin to ferment it anyway (particularly if you have done 
hemobrewing in the area before this)

The addition of Honey and extra wort later in the recipe would seem to 
indicate that the ale was fermented however, and this new addition may be the 
ancient version of "priming" (along with the yeast, to give it a good 
headstart).  Stopping it up would allow the yeast to act on the sugars and 
produce carbonation, rather than the gas escaping through the opening.  I 
don't know why they would have added spirits to this, unless the alcohol 
level was too low for local tastes.  But if you let it sit longer than three 
or four days (which the recipe suggests) then the yeast will give you more 
alcohol.  Sounds like the author was late for a party, and wanted to get this 
stuff done a.s.a.p.

This may be way off base, but that's the way I see it.

Hope it helps.

Balthazar of Blackmoor

Such a strange fascination, as I wallow in waste
That such a trivial victory could put a smile on your face.

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